Nurses are the backbone of our health care system. From lending an empathetic ear to administering medications to sitting with us when it feels like the world is falling down around us, they are there—making us feel human while seeming superhuman themselves. The nurses within these pages are the ones you nominated for their lasting influence, and they are truly the champions of our West Virginia centers of care. Read their stories, discover what inspires them, and be inspired yourself.

Melissa Miller

RN, CAMC Outpatient Surgery Center Specialty: Ambulatory care nursing

Melissa Miller originally went to school for criminal justice but, after a few years in that field, she decided that being a nurse was what she needed to do. She changed gears and hasn’t looked back. “I feel like God put me here to help people,” she says. “And in nursing, you see face-to-face the people that you help every day. It’s a good feeling to see their reaction on their face.” Although she relishes the celebrations and good memories with patients, it’s not just on the happy days that Miller feels like she’s fulfilling her calling by doing this work. “Life is really hard, and sometimes, if they get a bad diagnosis or they have an issue, it’s comforting for them to know that you’re there to help them.”

On those days when she’s supporting people who have received bad news or she’s feeling overwhelmed due to the natural pressure of the job, Miller says there’s nothing like working on a team of nurses that is always there to lift one another up. “There’s no friendship like nurses, and there’s no teamwork like nurses,” she says. “You’re put in situations where you have to depend on people, and other people are depending on us. So you have to work together to safely treat people and take care of them—everybody has everybody’s back.”

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